Still, when the idea of a city park was taking shape in the 1850s, they were described in newspaper editorials as squatters and thieves who plundered natural resources.

Their days were numbered, of course.

“First came the orders in the late spring of 1856 that they would henceforth have to pay rent to the city if they wanted to remain even temporarily in the houses and on the lots they long occupied,” stated Rosenzweig and Blackmar.

Next, the new Central Park police hassled them about the businesses they ran, the firewood they chopped, even a dance hall at the northern end.

Piggery owners were given eviction orders in summer 1856. In October 1857, two years before Central Park opened, all residents were kicked out for good (though some simply went to shantytowns just outside the park).

I became interested in Seneca Village years ago after I noticed the remnants of a stone foundation in the park near the 85th St./CPW entrance. Shortly after my discovery the New York Historical Society held an exhibition on Seneca Village showing maps of known buildings that existed there and also mentioned that the village had at least one (possibly more than one) cemetery. In preparation for the creation of the CP these villages were razed and then just covered over with land fill, so what do you think happened to the cemetery/s of Seneca Village?